California city to experiment with 'universal basic income'

What happens when you CAN'T work becuase the robots took over? You can't attach a work requirement to a UBI, it defeats the purpose.

 

The robots can't take over every job. Perhaps if we were at a point where every single job was filled (either by a person or a robot) I would find your point more compelling.

 

'universal basic income' is a great idea because then we can just all lay around at home eating Cheetos all day and post endlessly on PF.com all day.
As long as I don't have to pay for it I'm all for it!


[Edit: wait, uh, er, how exactly are the leftists going to PAY for this communist-like scheme???............]

 

Correct you are. For example, the job of lead editor of the New York Times could never be taken over by a robot (a herd of monkeys, yes obviously, but a robot, no.)

 

I do that now

Well, sans the Cheetos. And I do leave the keyboard every 10 minutes to work my way through the day's apparently endless chores. When you're self-sufficient, your (7 days a week) work day runs 6am til 8pm, but it does allow intervals for loafing

 

Venezuela seems like a great country - the military is so friendly and helpful that they even hand out food to the people. Wow, what a great country - I'm checking out one-way flights on Travelocity right now.

 

But how do you work in the time to attend church?

 

Uh, just in case you guys are wondering, uh, no, this would not be a change in lifestyle for me at all, but this way OTHER people would be able to also lead the FreedomSeeker Lifestyle, so I'm all for it. Just to clarify.

 

Sure, sure, not like 53% employment is projected within the next 3 decades or anything. Oh, wait...

 

I didn't say it could not ever be an issue, but 30 years? I think we have more compelling, more critical, more time-sensitive things to deal with first. Besides, to listen to some of the hysteria on the political forums, you'd think global warming is going to kill us all before then anyhow

In 30 years I will be 70. I'll be sitting around bemoaning "the old days" when people my age got this thing called Social Security.....

 

"Universal basic income" is a phenomenal idea!! I'm 100% for it!!
The concept behind it is sort of like, well, let's see, say sort of like from each according to his ability, to each according to his....er, uh.....oh, uh ok I see where there going with this, now - so SCRATCH what I said above - this "universal basic income" is NOT a good idea! Unless of course you think that, say, the Soviet Union was a good idea - in which case there are many many highly trained wonderful mental health professionals that would love to help you with your affliction.

 

Do you even know what the bolded means?

 

Yes, it means that communism sucks.

 

lol Try harder. You know, with an answer? Even a simple no will do.

 

It's basically a big "F-you!" to paying people what the free market determines that their fair worth is - according to their needs.
Failed in the USSR, would fail in the USA like it's also failing in Hugo's socialist paradise. Sean Penn unavailable for comment.

 

Well... No. lol

 

Mexico wants to try something like this. I don't have an opinion formed.

 

Eliminate the minimum wage and subsidize unskilled labor, and very few who are able to work will choose not to.

 

No sane person would have an opinion before we see any results.

 

So... A min wage.

 

The fear is businesses will never raise wages, but the government will have to increase subsidies. I suppose they could take money from those businesses to pay for those subsidies. They won't.

Also, would it cost less than what we do now? There are tons of people working two jobs to pay for their rent and food and so forth.

 

I pray to Jeebus and Yahweh and Allah and Krishna and Odin (bases covered) while cleaning the toilet. I just lump them together into an amorphous blob, which is purple in colour and has the consistency of jello. It saves time.

 

No. You can hire unskilled labor for what they are worth and what you can afford to pay. It is worth it to the rest of us to make sure they are paid enough live while they gain a work record and worth. Middle class individuals/skilled workers in the city should be able to hire workers to clear and clean their collapsing neighborhoods for the next to nothing they can afford to pay.

 

Hmmmm - sounds suspiciously similar to the brain-makeup of most religious people.

 

The USG is operating on at least $144T unfunded mandates. It has plenty of paper to fund unskilled labor. Transfer some from the bureaucracy to people doing the kind of unpleasant dirty jobs that really need to be done.